Hale.
After Talon had called upon the pack and explained everything going on, the three of us stood as a united front, letting our warriors know the battle was coming—the war was coming–and with it, death, but we had to fight for what we loved.
All the warriors agreed, and they knew what was expected of them. They had been trained for this their entire life, and now that it was here, they would not back down.
We separated the women and the children who were not part of the battle and prepared them for the underground bunkers that would keep them safe while war raged above them.
We knew what was expected. We knew exactly what we needed to do.
The only thing was actually executing the plan.
So, after hours of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, the bunkers were ready, and those who would use them knew if the howl was sounded, to go straight there. Hopefully, we wouldn’t need them, but that was wishful thinking on my part.
As the sun sank below the sky, we sat waiting at the borders, all three of us, with our warriors, ready for whatever was to come.
If it was actually coming.
Part of me still thought Talon was over-exaggerating, but the other part of me, deep down, had a feeling he wasn’t. I felt he was right, and because of that, I stood waiting.
The only problem was when we faced the roars of hundreds of wolves approaching our borders, we realized that though we had the power and equal numbers… the council wasn’t alone.
Richard’s pack and two other small leaders had joined them.
This was a battle we weren’t prepared for after all, and as I watched the vicious snarls of ravaging wolves approach us closer, we shifted, preparing for battle. I didn’t understand why my Lycan refused to come forth at the moment.
But in the back of my head, he whispered, “not yet…”
The clashing of bodies and the scent of blood filled the air as their wolves clashed with our own. Somewhere in the mix of things, I was separated from my brothers. Their bodies were lost in the wave of wolves that battled around me.
One by one, I tore through the wolves who came at me. Breaking one wolf’s neck and then tore through the throat of another. There was no way I would allow this pack to fall at the hands of our enemies, and from what I could tell, everyone from my pack felt the same way.
‘Hale!’ James cried through the mind link. ‘Wolves just headed towards the house!’
I could sense his panic through our link, and looking towards the house, I saw the enemy wolves running there. Dread filled me, and before I could move toward them, I was surrounded by three more wolves and unable to run to their aid.
‘We have to protect them!’ I called out to anyone who was able to hear me. ‘We have to protect the Luna.’
However, it didn’t seem like anyone could do anything, and instead, I prayed she had made it to the panic room safely with the children.
“She has awakened,” the Lycan inside me said. “The time is coming.”
Ivy.
I felt a pit of sorrow within the darkness that told me to wake up.
It was a feeling I couldn’t shake, but the screams and howls of despair came through into the darkness. The sounds shook me from my slumber, and laying on the bed, I took a deep breath, trying to calm my currently racing mine.
That was until I heard it again. The screams of everybody around me. Screams that made blood run cold. Jolting from where I had laid within the comforts of my bed, I sat up, my eyes wide as the door to my room burst open.
Kara, the Valkyrie who had once visited me before in the sanctum of elders, stood before me with her mighty sword strapped to her back and her wings folded behind her. “You need to get up now. We have to get the children, and we have to protect them.”
I was shocked to see her. I hadn’t seen her in months, and yet here she was, just in time for chaos to consume the outside world. Jumping from the bed, I ran to the window. The fires outside the lands of our pack and the howls of wolves surrounded us.
The scene before me was unlike anything I had ever seen, yet it felt so familiar.
The elders were attacking, and I was left in the center. “I have to help them.”
“No,” Kara said firmly as she took two steps forward, striding closer as she grabbed me by my arm. “You cannot help them.”
My mother and Priscilla quickly entered the door behind, stopping to look at Kara. My mother’s eyes widened, never having seen a creature like that before, a soft gasp leaving her lips as the twins began to cry. Their cry was different, though. It was almost ear-piercing, and as I strode towards them, I picked them up to soothe them.
And as I did, the crying stopped.
It was odd… I had never seen them act the way they did, but looking down at them now, I knew their safety came first. No matter how much I wanted to go out there to help my mates.
“Please, you must tell me what is going on out there.”
“Ivy, you already know who is here. They are here for you, and they are here for your children. The panic room that you created, where is it?” Kara’s question caught me off guard. She had never been inside this house that I knew of, so how would she know I had a panic room?
“How was it that you knew about this?”
She hesitated for a moment, staring at me with thinly met lips before crossing her arms over her chest, shaking her head. “I am your guardian, Ivy. I am your Valkyrie. It is my job to know these things. I would have assumed that you had already realized this.”
Staring at her for about a second, I took a heavy breath. With my children in my arms, I made my way from the nursery to my room and pushed the button that moved a shelf from the wall sideways, revealing a large ten-foot by twelve-foot panic room.
The panic room had never been used before, but as soon as the children came and their fathers knew these troubles were coming, they made sure to have everything stocked. So that way, if anything happened, the twins would be safe. It was Talon’s idea at first, and the brothers quickly agreed.
Talon was very paranoid. Very… paranoid.
However, we can see now that he had every reason to be.
Looking over at my mother, I gestured with my head for her to enter, and she did not say a single word as she nodded and moved with Priscilla into the panic room.
“I cannot stay in this room. You know that.”
My eyes cast over to Kara, whom I had been talking to, and as the stern gaze upon her face slowly started to melt, she looked around, rolling her eyes as if she didn’t want to allow me to do whatever it is that I felt that I had to.
“I have my orders to protect you. Now get in, and I will stand guard.”
I didn’t want to do as she said. I didn’t want to get in, but as my eyes gazed down at my children… I knew I had no other choice. Quietly, I walked forward and stepped inside, and as I did, she nodded her head at me, and I hit the red button.
The door to the panic room closed, and within it, the cameras that had been scattered throughout the house revealed the scene before me.
The chaos that would slowly consume us.
“You’re doing the right thing,” my mother said softly as she took Pollux from my arms.
“Am I, though? My mates are out there, and I’m stuck in a panic room with my children, my mother and a Seer, instead of out there fighting for my pack. No offense, Priscilla.”
“None taken,” she replied with a wicked smile as she brushed off the jab I made.
My mother couldn’t say anything. What was she to say? She wasn’t one of us.
I didn’t want to think the way I was, but I couldn’t help it.
What kind of Luna did that make me? What kind of goddess did that make me?
The guilt that swirled and filled me was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I stood there watching the cameras, and as I did, I watched the front doors blow open. The cracking of wood splinters shot across my foyer as a gasp left my lips.
“They just broke my fucking door,” I snarled, watching two wolves enter my home downstairs. Their massive forms caused more damage than I would have liked. It was not long-lasting, though, as Kara appeared into view, slashing her sword through one of the wolves as if it was nothing and then stabbing the other.
Their mangled bodies dropped to the floor as I heard her snicker, shaking her head before stepping in front of the doorway. She was staying true to her word. Guarding the house and protecting us was top priority, but I couldn’t allow her to do this alone.
It wasn’t right, and she was only one person. From the looks of it, hundreds of wolves were out there, and my mates were somewhere in the mix. “I have to get out there.”
I could feel their pain and anger through our bond. It was fueling a fire deep inside me that wanted to escape. A fire that wanted to destroy everything I held dear.
“You can’t do anything for them,” my mother said as she laid her hand on my arm. “You’re safer here with us.”
Turning to face her once more, I shook my head in disbelief. “How can you say that?”
She seemed shocked and a little taken aback but pushing through it, she opened her mouth and surprised me. “They are fighting to protect you. You’re not built for this kind of thing, Ivy. You’re safer here, just like the rest of the women and children are in the bunker.”
I wasn’t built for this?
I was the fucking Luna of this pack!
“This is my birthright, mother. You may not understand that, but fate proclaimed me their leader. Fate proclaimed me to be what brings forth peace.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked as her brows furrowed in confusion.
“It doesn’t matter,” I muttered, turning back to glance at the cameras. “There is more to this than you realize.”
“Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter, Ivy. I am your mother.”
I cringed at her words. Not because she said she was my mother, but because of the tone she was using. I loved her dearly, but her ignorance of how this world worked killed me. She had no idea what she was in, but she sure liked to think she did.
Just as I was about to say something, I watched three figures on the screen come into view, and as they did, my blood ran cold.
The elder Alokaye stood side by side with Allison. A woman who was supposed to be dead, and at her feet, kneeled a man I knew all too well.
It was Damian, and he was their prisoner.
